So this week before all the true frantic madness of Christmas begins, I am sharing a few new recipes which are all worthy of a place at your Festive table, whether you are catering for meat lovers, vegetarians or vegans.

I am a massive fan of mushrooms, lentils and nuts so this is my idea of an ideal starter. Served with some thinly sliced sourdough or delicious crackers (recipe coming soon!)this will surely impress your guests! It can be made a few days in advance and will happily sit in the fridge until you need it. This also works well stirred into a mushroom risotto or as a topping for a baked potato or a pizza!

I've made this a few times and played around with the recipe a bit. The original recipe from the wonderful Dearbhla Reynolds book The Cultured Club uses fermented mushrooms, which adds another layer of flavour and nutrition but since most folks won't have time to ferment the mushrooms first then this adapted recipe is equally delicious and the addition of seaweed flakes adds that unique umami flavour.

There are also lots of fresh herbs in this, all of which I have growing in the garden, so rosemary, sage and thyme and flat leaf parsley all feature in this delicious pate.Garlic, onion, tamari and lemon juice add more flavour and nutrition and the addition of flaxseed and breadcrumbs firm it up so that you have the option of setting the pate in a small loaf tin, which looks rather wonderful and can then be served in slices.

Other options are to set the pate in small individual ramekin dishes or just put it into a serving dish and serve dollops rather than slices! It's whatever suits your needs best and makes life easier! If you are catering for gluten free then you would need to leave the breadcrumbs out or use gluten free ones. I always have a supply of breadcrumbs in the freezer, which are very handy and a great way to use up any slightly stale bread.

So back to the ingredients, any mushrooms will do but I always purchase organic mushrooms. Mushrooms absorb and concentrate whatever they are grown in, good or bad. I'd rather not have a side of pesticide residues or heavy metals with my food, thank you very much! It's always safer to buy organic and most of the supermarkets sell organic mushrooms these days at a reasonable price. Button mushrooms, portabello, chestnut or shitake mushrooms will all work well or indeed a mixture!

I will be making the version with fermented mushrooms for our Christmas dinner! Jenna is home from Cornwall for Christmas and is missing her mamas sourdough, kimchi, krauts and condiments so I'll have to get her gut microbiome restocked while she is here.I have festive kombucha and lots of lovely fermenty things on the go!

So without further ado, here is the recipe....

Decadent Mushroom & Lentil Pate

Ingredients

150 g green lentils

1 tablespoon coconut or rapeseed oil for sauteing the onions

1 small to medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced or minced

175 g organic mushrooms, wiped with a damp cloth and sliced

140 g toasted walnuts or pecans

2 tablespoons finely chopped sage or flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons tamari or balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary and thyme

1 tsp seaweed flakes (optional)

2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds (linseeds)

1/2 cup to 1 cup of breadcrumbs

sea salt and black pepper

Method

Rinse the lentils, put them in a pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for around 25 to 30 minutes. Once cooked, drain well.

Toast walnuts or pecans in a moderate oven at 160 C for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them, you don't want to burn them!

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic for 5 or 6 minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes or so. If you have a lot of liquid from the mushrooms then drain it or cook it off.

Place the drained lentils, toasted nuts, onion,mushroom & garlic, herbs, lemon juice, tamari and seaweed flakes into a food processor and blitz until well mixed. Add the flaxseeds and breadcrumbs if you want a firmer texture. Process again until well mixed and fairly smooth in texture. You can leave it coarser if you prefer.

Taste and add salt, pepper and more lemon juice or tamari if you feel it needs it.

Transfer to a serving bowl or a well greased small loaf tin, lined with a strip of greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge until firm.

To remove the pate from the loaf tin, run a warm palette knife along the edges to loosen it, then turn it upside down onto a serving plate or board. The greaseproof paper should easily peel off.